Melbourne, Feb 23 (ANI): Former skipper Allan Border has warned Australia that they may face a New Zealand side this Friday motivated by the tragic earthquake that has hit their country.

Border said the Black Caps, already a dangerous prospect given their one-day international record against Australia, might draw on the hardship of their compatriots as extra motivation.

“They’re a side that tend to lift against Australia and given the recent events in Christchurch, they’ve got the added incentive to do well,” Border told foxsports.com.au.

“Not that that should make that much difference, but you’ve got that incentive in the back of your mind to lift for the sake of your countrymen. They’re a dangerous opponent, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

Border said Australia would be happy to get the match against Zimbabwe out of the way, but added New Zealand would offer a sterner test.

“It was a rusty sort of performance. It was one of those performances you want to get the job done because everyone expects you to beat a side like Zimbabwe and beat them comfortably. In the end that happened, but there is big room from improvement from what I watched,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get a handle on how the conditions are when you’re just watching on TV. It looks sort of innocuous enough and you’re wondering why you’re not scoring more heavily. But sometimes the bowling, even though it’s innocuous can be hard to get away if they’re landing it in the right areas on that sort of surface,” he said.

The Aussie batsman will face another tough spinning test in Nagpur against a Black Caps side that includes skipper Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum and possibly Luke Woodcock.

Border hinted that successfully handling Vettori, one of the world’s premier one-day bowlers, was the key to Australia’s success in Nagpur. (ANI)